GS Retail Co., Ltd.'s (KRX:007070) largest shareholders are public companies who were rewarded as market cap surged ₩88b last week

Key Insights

• GS Retail's significant public companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public
• GS Holdings Corp. owns 59% of the company
• Institutions own 15% of GS Retail

To get a sense of who is truly in control of GS Retail Co., Ltd. (KRX:007070), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are public companies with 59% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, public companies collectively scored the highest last week as the company hit ₩2.3t market cap following a 3.9% gain in the stock.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of GS Retail.

See our latest analysis for GS Retail

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About GS Retail?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

GS Retail already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see GS Retail's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in GS Retail. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is GS Holdings Corp. with 59% of shares outstanding. This implies that they have majority interest control of the future of the company. National Pension Service is the second largest shareholder owning 8.6% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 1.5% of the company stock.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of GS Retail

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our information suggests that GS Retail Co., Ltd. insiders own under 1% of the company. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around ₩141m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 27% stake in GS Retail. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 59% of GS Retail. This may be a strategic interest and the two companies may have related business interests. It could be that they have de-merged. This holding is probably worth investigating further.

Next Steps:

While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - GS Retail has 3 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.